U.S. Trade Representative nominee Ron Kirk has called for renegotiation of the pending free trade deal with South Korea, saying the agreement was unacceptable as currently written.

"In the case of Korea, the current ― the status quo simply isn't acceptable," Kirk was quoted as telling a Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider his nomination by Yonhap News Agency. "The president has said, and I agree, the agreement as it is just simply isn't fair."

He was repeating Obama's position expressed in the election campaign last year that he will not approve the Korea FTA "as it stands."

Obama has opposed ratification of what he called a "badly flawed" free trade agreement with South Korea due to an imbalance in auto trade, although South Korea disputes the U.S. figures, which include hundreds of thousands of autos produced by Hyundai Motor's plant in Alabama.

"And if we don't get that right, we'll be prepared to step away from that," Kirk said. "But I believe Korea also presents one of the biggest economic opportunities we have of all of the bilateral agreements out there, but we want to make sure that we get that right."

Another thorny issue is beef.

"Korea must find a way to accept all American beef from cattle of all ages. Then, properly, I believe that the United States-Korea trade agreement could serve as a cornerstone of a broader economic agenda that embraces the dynamism of Asia," Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) told the hearing.

Seoul and Washington agreed to limit shipments of beef to those from cattle less than 30 months old, after the resumption of U.S. beef imports caused a public outcry in South Korea last year on health concerns. Cows younger than 30 months old are less susceptible to mad cow disease, a case of which occurred in the U.S. in 2003, leading to suspension of shipments to South Korea and other countries.

U.S. beef regained its status as the biggest selling product in South Korea against Korean and Australian beef just months after full-scale imports resumed late last year.